Friday, November 12, 2010

A smile

We were able to catch up with Baraba Paul last week before we flew to the US. He is doing well. He has been in Kampala receiving treatment now for 3 weeks. The tumor was confirmed to be Burkett's Lymphoma and has responded to the chemotherapy. The tumor has decreased back to the size it was when we first saw him (It had doubled from that size before he made it to Kampala). He has at least two more courses of treatments scheduled over the next several months.

Most importantly, we noticed something about him we did not see when he was in Bundibugyo. A smile. When he left to Kampala, he held a handkerchief over his face and would not look anyone in the eye. He was understandably sad and scared. When we met with him at the International Hospital in Kampala, though his face remains disfigured, their was an unmistakable smile! We were able to rejoice with him for the current progress and pray with him for complete healing.

3 comments:

We were so happy to read this news on Baraba Paul! How lovely to see that sweet smile and to sense the spirit of hope that has arisen in Baraba Paul's weary spirit and body. We will continue to pray that the chemo stops the cancer and that Baraba Paul is able to weather the physical and emotional battles still ahead. Much love-Cindy and Kjel Nore